Family Matters
by Nifada Light
Summary: In a world where vampires are above all creatures, a magic crystal gets stolen and a forbidden love becomes the reason for a war between a vampire father (Damon) and a human son (Jeremy) to begin. Who's side are you on?
1. Lexi's Message

The rain had only just stopped after pouring nonstop for what felt like a solid week. Although, there was only one person lurking in the streets of Harlem at that late night time to appreciate the refreshing change in the weather.

It was a tall man with the well-structured manly physique of somebody in his mid to late twenties, as anyone would easily assume by simply glancing at his dark figure, hidden in the shadows of the abandoned warehouse, located somewhere near East Harlem. However, if somebody brave enough would bother to step closer toward that threatening looking stranger, he would immediately come to notice that despite the intimidating posture, the lightly trimmed beard and the obvious attempts of the man to appear older, in reality the man was not a man at all.

The stranger was nothing more but a young boy, who barely crawled out of his teenage years. His age however, would be hard to determine if it wasn't for that pair of large brown eyes that despite all of life's doings, still burned with the innocence only a child was naïve enough to possess.

He pushed his hair back, breathed into his palms and quickly placed them inside the pockets of his black trench coat, in attempt to stay warm while waiting.

There was no agitation or concern in his movement, though one could suggest this night meant a great deal to him and a lot was at stake if luck was not on his side, including his life. Nonetheless, his early upbringing denied him the luxury of feelings such as nervousness or fear.

Fully aware of the environment surrounding him, though this was the first time he visited that specific area of the city, he strained his ears, listening to something only he could hear and with a slow but confident pace came out of his hiding spot.

The muffled sounds of an old car's engine followed by a blinding pair of bright lights came from the left side of the road the moment a yellow New York cab made its not-very-discreet entrance to the neighborhood.

The side door opened just as the car cut off speed and stopped with a loud creaking noise a couple meters away from the warehouse, splattering water all over the already wet sidewalk. An impressive woman in her early thirties came out of it and careful to avoid stepping on mud and spoiling her expensive looking shoes, quickly walked the distance between the cab and the warehouse.

Her appearance would immediately come across as peculiar and suspicious even to the less skeptical, for she was wearing a very expensive black dress combined with a small black jacket that came to her waist and a matching hat that strategically covered most of her face.

She stood by the side of the road, staring at the cab through her green, cat-like eyes until it turned a corner and went completely out of sight, only then she took a step back and gave a good look around.

There were no houses in the neighborhood, only abandoned buildings with broken windows and walls filled with unoriginal graffiti. The streets were dark and unwelcoming, dimply lit by several semi-working streetlamps. A location rarely visited by anybody other than adventurous children during the day and shady adults during the night, and it was definitely not the right place for a beautiful woman to be by herself at any time.

The woman knocked melodically the heel of her left boot three times against the sidewalk and without further ado entered the warehouse, not a hint of fear in her clever, full of purpose eyes.

The darkness of the warehouse didn't appear to bother her to the least and giving the immediate impression that she was very familiar with the setting, she calmly passed several large crates of unknown content the warehouse was filled with, until she reached a plastic chair.

Ignoring the crying of a cat that came from outside, she settled down, crossed her legs and began going through her tiny, red purse.

"Mr. Salvatore" she called in a demanding voice, once she found her cigarettes. "Or is it Gilbert now?"

The young man, who was now standing by the crates, stepped forward and announced his presence before the woman.

"Miss Branson" he bowed slightly, a smile twitching at the sides of his mouth. "How are you feeling this fine evening?"

The woman lit her cigarette and inhaled the first deep breath of smoke into her lungs.

"I don't think my feelings is the reason why you called me here tonight, Jeremy" said Lexi in a businesslike tone, though her eyes looked lovingly up at the boy, in a way only a mother would at her misbehaving child.

"No," Jeremy admitted half-heartedly and pulled his hands out of his pockets, a piece of crumbled paper inside his fist, "I expect you know what to do with this" he drew nearer and handed it over to Lexi.

The woman kept the lit cigarette trapped between her lips and took hold of the paper. It was a note addressed to Damon Salvatore.

"How did you get this?" she asked, the first sign of fear in her voice, "Did you read it?" she threw her cigarette on the ground and stood up, her legs shaking.

"Yes, I did" said Jeremy earnestly, "Father is preparing an army against me, I guess he is still pretty angry. All I have to do now is fight back"

Lexi gasped and clapped her hand over her mouth.

"You will not do such thing, you hear me?" with inhuman strength the woman seized his face and forced direct eye contact, " _you will never return to Mystic Falls_ "

"Why? You think my dear old dad will kill me?" asked Jeremy almost mockingly, "and no Lexi, you can't compel me" he added after noticing the woman's tries to force compulsion.

"Your father loves you very much, he would never hurt you" she replied, uncertain about the truth of her words, "as long as you agree to put an end to this madness. Witches have been what they are for many years now and you cannot change that because you fell in love"

"Is that why you came? To try and change my mind?" Jeremy threw her hands off of him and stepped backwards.

"No" she admitted immediately, "you're too hard-headed to reason. I came to give you this"

Jeremy allowed her to come closer and once she did, the woman wrapped her arms around his shoulders and trapped him in a long, asphyxiating hug.

"I won't be able to come again in a while" she whispered in his ear and repeatedly kissed his neck and forehead, "your father suspects me, my presence can only bring you harm"

"Will you be ok?" the boy panted at the unexpected news. Lexi was the closest thing he ever had to a real mother after losing his own, she had been the one to care for him while growing up in Mystic Falls under his father's and uncle's suffocating control and she had been the only member of his family to help him after he ran away and went against his father.

"Don't you dare worry for me, boy" said Lexi strictly, "your safety is all that matters to me. No if's, and's or but's, you hear me? I want you to stay here and be safe!" she kissed him for a last time and stepped away. "Your father has unspeakable reach, you dare come near Mystic Falls and you'll get arrested right on the spot" she pointed a warning finger at him, very much like she did when he was five and caught stealing cookies before dinner, but all of the sudden something forced her to stop.

"What's hap—" Jeremy began to say when a finger hushed him.

"Somebody is coming" warned Lexi, indicating that the boy should hide.

Jeremy did no such thing; hiding wasn't really what he was trained to do. He pulled out a gun from underneath his coat and standing behind a crate, he made sure he was aiming for the door.

They didn't have to wait longer than five minutes, listening intently to every bit of noise coming from outside, when the entrance door creaked to the side and a man Jeremy had never seen before, made his way in.

Lexi had already jumped on top of a tall crate and was looking down at the man, once she recognized him; she winked at Jeremy and the boy pulled the trigger.

" _Mercy is for the weak. Always go for the heart, always go for the kill_ " his father's voice echoed inside his head the moment the wooden bullet travelled through the silence and with extreme accuracy entered his enemy's heart.

The vampire didn't have time to react to the sudden attack, protect his life, fight back or even yell for help. He fell back and within a moment a soulless body was left as the only sad reminder of his existence.

Jeremy didn't dare come out from behind the crate, but Lexi was far more confident that the attacker was alone.

"That was Maximus, your uncle assigned him to keep an eye on me" she explained looking down at the dead man, "You must leave now, Stefan would never allow Maximus to come alone. If you wish to contact me again, from now on do it through Matt Donovan, you can trust him" she walked around Maximus and held the door open for Jeremy after making sure that the streets were empty.

"Leave" she seized Jeremy by the coat and almost threw him out of the warehouse.

The boy turned round and looked back at the woman waving at him, not sure when would be the next time to see her again.

* * *

Just as Lexi had predicted there were more vampires going after her than just poor Maximus. There was a group of three vampires stationed two streets down from the warehouse. They appeared to be confused and clearly unsure whether there was a real purpose for them being out at that time. So it came to him as no surprise when they didn't stop him when he walked right past them.

The second time he wasn't that lucky. Jeremy experienced the unpleasant surprise to run into Marco Davis, a vampire he remembered working for his father when he still lived at home. Jeremy didn't like most of his father's guards from back in the day. Not because they were bad people, but mostly because their job forced them to do bad things. Marco however, was different.

Jeremy hated him entirely for his personality. And if anyone would have to take a guess, the feelings were mutual.

"Young Salvatore" the vampire called after him, "I wished it was I to find you" he revealed a menacing smile and unable to control his excitement pushed back his dirty, blond hair.

"Careful what you wish for, Mr. Davis" advised Jeremy in a falsely sweet voice, "wishes can be granted in odd little ways that you personally wouldn't enjoy. Life is funny that way"

"I see you haven't changed one bit" said the man with a large, hungry grin.

"Oh, on the contrary, Sir, I have changed a lot" his voice was now sincere, almost promising.

The vampire saw the gun Jeremy held in his right hand and on that note let a hysterical laugh come out of his lungs.

More worried by the alarming noise his enemy made than the mockery of his laughter, Jeremy raised his gun. This vampire was distinctly faster than the one in the warehouse. His laughter still echoing around the empty buildings, he used his vampire speed and approached Jeremy from behind. A second later his right arm was holding the young man in a choke hold.

"Now you see, Mr. Salvatore? Dreams do come true" he tightened his grip around the boy's throat, turning every breath into a painful challenge.

"Mhm congratulations" Jeremy coughed, not losing his snarky tone for a second, "I'm sure my father will be very grateful"

The vampire laughed again.

"Stupid, spoiled little brat, who told you that I will be taking you to your father?" he used his free hand to swat Jeremy on the head a few times, "when Lord Mikaelson would be so much more appreciative with your return to the homeland and of course that little crystal you stole on your way out"

For a wild second Jeremy stopped fighting and stood very still. The Mikaelsons knew he had the crystal. They knew it was him who started the war and they knew it was him who could end it. It was him who could make them kings again above all other creatures. But how? His father must've told them.

Suddenly every inch of his body was filled rage. His father's anger and disappointment in his own son had reached the point to want him dead and to accomplish that he was willing to use everything he had. Then, so was Jeremy.

Taking advantage of the loosened grip, Jeremy used his elbow and struck a solid blow to the man's rib, a hit that would usually make minimum damage if used by a human to a vampire. But Jeremy was far from a typical human.

From the early age of three, Jeremy had been trained to inflict pain to the ones stronger than he was. He studied anatomy, was taught martial arts and was forced to create his own weapons in order to survive.

In fact he thought that if his father was watching his next move, he might've been even impressed, though he would never admit it since encouragement was the last thing his father would ever give him.

With extraordinary speed for a human boy, Jeremy ducked down to avoid an outraged punch from the vampire and with even bigger strength struck him in the heart with a perfectly carved wooden stake he always hid under his sleeve.

The vampire was about to scream, but the voice died in his throat as his whole body jerked into the color of a chalk and dropped down on the ground, still twitching.

In his nineteen years of existence, Jeremy had seen many vampires die right before his eyes, though he strongly believed it was impossible to ever get used to such a horrific sight, even when the deceased clearly deserved his fate. Unlike his father, Jeremy was weak; he could never enjoy the death of anybody even of an enemy that would gladly enjoy his.

Leaving the body at the side of the road, sure that his friends would find him soon, Jeremy ran as fast as his legs could carry him. He had to find Kol.


	2. The Decision

It had to be three o'clock in the morning when Jeremy finally reached his destination: an apartment building in the upper east side of Manhattan. With a nod, he greeted the doorman who had seen the boy enter the building plenty of times to bother ask any kind of questions and deciding that he was faster than the elevator, Jeremy took the stairs.

Turns out, he wasn't that much faster than the elevator as he liked to believe, but he still made it up to the 21st floor and in no time was standing right before the apartment with the lucky number "13" carved on its door.

He balled his hand into a fist and banged the white painted door several times.

There was no answer, though that was not nearly enough to make Jeremy give up. He knew Kol was inside, pretending not to listen to him. He saw his black BMW convertible parked outside and if anybody knew Kol as good as Jeremy did, he would know that Kol Mikaelson would never go _anywhere_ without the company of his precious, " _chick magnet_ ", as he liked to call it.

"Open the damn door!" groaned Jeremy impatiently, banging on the door, "I know you're inside!"

It hasn't been a minute, when the front door of Kol's apartment snapped open not more than two inches to the side, and a single, unnerved, hazelnut eyeball came to glare at him through the gap.

"I'm kind of busy here" he spoke in an angry whispery voice that was followed by a derisive girly giggle coming from inside the house, leaving to Jeremy no doubt that his friend was in fact very busy. "So get lost" he was about to shut the door but Jeremy put his leg in the gap to stop it from closing.

Feeling slightly guilty for the interruption but not enough to make him leave, Jeremy leaned closer and spoke so quietly not even a vampire could hear his words, " _Your brothers found out about the crystal and they're after me…_ "

Kol's only visible eye, widened at the sound of those news. A moment later the door was pulled open to its full potential, exposing the sight of his best friend naked in his boxers.

"Get your ass in here" he grabbed Jeremy by the coat and forced him inside his apartment, after first making sure the corridor was empty and his friend was not being followed.

Kol's home was relatively small. It had only a single room that worked as both bedroom and kitchen and a separate bathroom, though the large windows and the spectacular view of the Manhattan buildings were plenty enough to make up for its size and be very loved by its owner, who proudly referred to it as his, " _love nest_ ", a perfect match for " _chick magnet_ ".

A red-headed girl, who was probably the source of the laughter Jeremy heard before, was lying on the bed, her curvy silhouette merely covered by a thin sheet, impatiently waiting for Kol.

"Sorry sweetheart" said Kol with a shrug, "my ex just dropped by, real drama" he pointed at Jeremy who shot at him an unamused, no-time-for-nonsense kind of glare and added in a very squeaky voice, " _we might be getting back together_ "

The girl frowned but luckily got up without having to be asked twice, the sheet previously covering her private places now resting on the hardwood floor.

Blushing all the way up to his ears, Jeremy turned the other way and waited for the girl to get dressed, unlike his friend who enjoyed the view wholeheartedly.

Fully dressed, the girl advanced toward Kol in a drunken, slightly out of balance pace, planted a kiss on his lips, waved at Jeremy goodbye and went out the door for there was a cab already waiting for her down at the street.

"My brothers know about the crystal and are after you?" asked Kol, soon as the two friends were left alone inside his apartment.

Jeremy nodded and with a deep sigh pushed his hair out of his eyes, like he did every time he was nervous about something and launched into describing in great detail what happened in the warehouse with Lexi and later about the conversation he had with Marco.

Very unlike his usual chatty self, Kol chose to remain quiet and maybe for a first time in his life, listened closely to everything Jeremy had to say without as much as a minor interruption.

"This whole time I knew my father was angry for going against him and his beliefs but now it's different, he actually wants me dead" said Jeremy bitterly, the level of frustration rising inside him.

"How do you even know it was Damon?" Kol only then realized he was still walking around in his boxers and so after picking out one of his scarlet silk robes from his wardrobe, he slid his arms inside it.

"It had to be him! The only people who knew my dad had that crystal and I stole it from him, were me, my dad, Uncle Stefan, Lexi and you!" said Jeremy, if possible even more frustrated now that he realized his father was the only one who could've betrayed him. "I sure as hell didn't say anything, Lexi would never do anything to hurt me and my uncle wouldn't do a thing without Lexi. So, unless you did it…" he raised his eyebrow at Kol.

The vampire let out a loud snort that proved beyond doubt his innocence.

"So, it's my dad. It has to be"

Kol sighed and for a second Jeremy suspected he was about to say something sentimental, but the vampire fast came back to his senses and did the next best thing, opened the fridge and just like their college days not-so-long-ago…they shared a beer.

"If my brothers are looking for you, it's a matter of days till they find you" said Kol skeptically, taking a sip of beer to steady his nerves, "and when they do, you must not have the crystal, at least not before we figure out what it is or how to use it against them"

"Can you hold on to it?"

Kol shook his head dismissively.

"I'll be the first person they search. You must give it to someone beyond all suspicion, someone even they can't find"

The description matched a single person, though on his defense that particular person was the one he always had in his mind and so it was no surprise when she was the first name to pop inside his head.

"Bonnie?" asked Kol, watching his friend's face turn into a light shade of pink.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK –NINE MONTHS BEFORE**

December 2013 came to Columbia University with three feet of snow, marshmallow hot chocolate and the promise of two hectic examination weeks before the much needed Christmas break.

The fever of the exams that originated from the school's bookworms and nerd know-it-alls and soon spread all around the campus like the plague, didn't fail to infect Jeremy Salvatore, who had locked himself inside his dorm room for the past couple of days with only company three gallons of coffee and redbull.

Yawning, the boy relocated from his beloved bed to the floor and lay down on his stomach, trying his best to stay as uncomfortable as possible and not endanger falling asleep on top of his eight thousand page book on "Early Modern History".

"Man, I can't wait to see the looks on the faces of those freshmen!" the door snapped open, pulling successfully Jeremy out of his doze as Kol walked inside.

His shoes were muddy all the way up to his ankles, while his clothes and hair were dripping with water, all evidence that he had just done something nobody would very soon come to appreciate and especially a pack of freshmen boys that lately became his favorite victims after they had the bad luck to accidently park their car in his parking spot.

"You're a bad person" muttered Jeremy sleepily, looking blankly down at his book and contemplating for a third time on that same month why in hell did he chose to major in History, while he could've picked out drama like Kol did, and instead of spending his last days as a teenager with his face down a book, right now he could've been pranking freshmen-parking-spot-thieves.

"Thank you" said Kol clearly flattered. He took off his soaking wet shirt and accidently-on-purpose threw it over his shoulder and right on top of Jeremy's head. At once Jeremy threw it back angrily, though his aim was a little off and instead he knocked down a lamp. "Why are you studying anyway?"

Jeremy lifted his head and in a very bad-tempered manner he fixed his blood thirsty eyes upon his roommate.

"Because," he launched into explaining in the most passive-aggressive tone he could muster, "because of your little kidnapping prank last month, I lost three of the most important lectures of the year and if I don't memorize this book until tomorrow and I fail the test, my dad will find me, rip off my spleen and feed it back to me for dinner"

"Don't blame this on me," retaliated Kol "I didn't kidnap you, you stepped into my car with your own volition"

"It's because you said we're going to the Starbucks at the end of the street" cried out Jeremy.

"No," pressed on Kol with a devilish smile, "I said we're going to _a_ Starbucks. And I did take you to a Starbucks…"

"In Florida!" roared Jeremy, tempted to throw something heavy at the vampire's head.

"Fine, big baby, you can study now. I won't bother you. I promise" said Kol seriously, holding out his pinky, though there was something devious about his tone.

"Thank you" groaned Jeremy and lowered his head back at the same paragraph he had been reading for the past one hour.

"Since you don't have any time for fun" Kol's voice came a second later like a drill through his brain.

"Yeap"

"Not fun of any kind"

"That's right"

"Just studying and nothing more"

"Exactly"

"Good, good" hummed Kol skeptically through his teeth, before pulling a red envelope from the pocket of his jeans, an envelope that was graced with a handwriting Jeremy would never fail to recognize. "Then I guess you won't be needing this stupid distraction"

Jeremy got hastily up on his feet for a first time in days and dived towards Kol's direction in attempt to grab the letter, though the vampire was not willing to give up so easily. He used his vampire speed the last moment and instead Jeremy crushed on the nightstand of his bed, wrecking almost half his belongings.

"Give me that!" he attacked once more but he was no match for an Original vampire and soon he found himself face down on the floor, right next to a handful of chips and cracker crumbs.

"I thought you wanted to study" said Kol mockingly, pointing at the heavy book on "Early Modern Europe" that Jeremy had just ran over in his attempt to get to the letter.

"I changed my mind! NOW GIVE ME THE DAMN LETTER!" he attacked Kol again, only this time holding the dagger he pulled from his pocket.

"And what about your beloved spleen? The one your dad will rip out and feed you for dinner?"

Kol ducked down to avoid the dagger aimed at his face, which stabbed the door instead, creating a rather unattractive rip on the Beatles poster that belonged to him.

"I can live without a spleen" said Jeremy silently, stopping his chase to sit down on his bed, "but I can't live without a heart" he looked up, trying to catch a glimpse of the letter that Kol still held mockingly over his head.

At the sound of those words, Kol cringed as if he was forced to swallow something very sour.

"Have you always been this cheesy?" he said grossed out and handed the letter to its owner as if he was afraid that whatever disease his friend carried could be passed on through that envelope.

Jeremy grabbed it at once, tore up the envelope and pulled out a small piece of paper. It had only a few words written on it, which managed to make Jeremy happier than he felt in a long time.

" _I'll meet you at 8 in the usual place_ "

"So, will you go?" asked Kol, who was now trying to glue his Beatles poster back together that was previously destroyed by Jeremy's dagger.

Jeremy raised his head from the letter after reading it quietly twenty times, over and over again.

"You read the letter?"

"Mate, we've known each other for nineteen years, what do you think? Of course I read it"

Jeremy was so happy about the letter; he didn't even experience the slightest hint of anger for this clear invasion of privacy and simply sighed in adoration.

"Did she give it to you?"

"No, I stole it" Kol rolled his eyes, "yes, she gave it to me. By the way what's up with the letters? Why can't you just text like normal people?"

"Bonnie likes it better this way, she says it's romantic. And I like it because she likes it"

"This is exactly why I don't have a girlfriend" snorted Kol, and threw the poster down at the trashcan after he realized the damage was beyond repair.

His mind now focused entirely on his future date with Bonnie, Jeremy made several attempts to go back to studying, all of which failed miserably, so he ended up lying in his bed under the covers, daydreaming.

He and Bonnie had been together for the past year and a half, approximately three weeks after he first saw her walking in Mr. Turner's class during freshman year. She was beautiful and smart and had qualities he had never quite seen on a girl before, like the ability to always be right about…everything.

The clock struck eight. Jeremy exited his dorm room, leaving Kol alone, giggling as he waited for the freshmen to taste the bitter side of his latest prank that for all Jeremy knew involved water, mud and possibly pneumonia.

Finally, he made his way through the snow to the park where Bonnie waited for him by the dimly lit entrance of the campus library.

The girl must've heard his footsteps for she spun around and fighting against the urge to scream from excitement she ran up to him.

Feeling his face burn, despite the minus eighteen degrees, Jeremy seized her by the waist and lifted effortlessly the girl up into his arms.

"God, I missed you" he said first, filling his lungs with the familiar smell of peaches coming out of Bonnie's dark hair as it fell lightly upon his face.

"I missed you too" she smiled kissing his lips for the last time before her feet slowly touched the ground. "I'm not going to lie; I was worried Kol wouldn't give you my message"

Jeremy tried to laugh that thought away, very unconvincingly.

"Nah, Kol would never do that" he decided to withhold some information about the previous events from back in the dorm for Bonnie was already not crazy about Kol and his usual attitude and he found no good reason to hand her over another reason to dislike his best friend.

Bonnie wasn't exactly satisfied by that answer but hadn't had the chance to see her boyfriend in two weeks since she was forced to visit her parents back in Chicago for some good old-fashioned family-drama, so naturally Kol Mikaelson's personality issues was the last thing she cared to talk about.

"I have good news" she announced after taking a seat down on the first two steps of the campus library. "This Christmas my parents are taking a little romantic trip to Aspen and I wasn't invited, which means—" she said with a playful wink as if there was a hint hidden somewhere in that story which Jeremy should've caught right away.

He didn't.

"Which means…" she repeated bracingly, "I can spend Christmas with your family!"

Suddenly Jeremy felt very lucky he was seated, because if standing he sure would've dropped unconscious and happiness and joy would not be to blame.

"Bon," he began cautiously, choosing his next words very carefully inside his head, "that is not a very good idea" and hurried to add, "You know who I'm…you know about my family…what they are"

"Vampires" replied Bonnie simply, clearly immune to that terrifying for her kind word.

"And you're a—" he stopped to take a breath as if the word he was about to pronounce was the deepest kind of insult, " _a witch_ " he almost whispered.

"Yes" said Bonnie proudly, "I'm a witch, but they don't know that and there is no need for them to find out"

Jeremy was about to open his mouth and retaliate when their conversation was rudely interrupted by a group of six boys that had just made their way inside the campus without either Bonnie or Jeremy noticing them.

All six boys were filthy, wet and covered in mud, some of them naked all the way down to their underwear.

Kol's victims, thought Jeremy.

"Salvatore!" a boy named Brandon stepped up from the rest of his friends, "where is your roommate?" he clenched his fists.

"Kol?" asked Jeremy stupidly, still looking up at the boys and their bizarre appearances while hoping that the school Dean was nowhere near to see this.

"Yeah, that's the one" shivered another boy from the group. That one was barefoot and for a reason was only wearing a pair of swim shorts.

Jeremy pointed directly at the dorms and watched as the young freshmen walked as fast as the snow would allow them, in hope to find Kol and get their revenge. Poor, naïve, freshmen…

"I love you" said Bonnie, abruptly going back to their topic before the interruption, "I love you and I can't avoid your family for the rest of our lives" she looked pointedly down at a diamond ring she had on her finger, a ring Jeremy gave her before her trip to Chicago.

The boy fixed his eyes down on the ground, looking absentmindedly at the trail of the bare feet those freshmen left on the snow.

"You know what they'll do if they find out what you are" he said pushing his hair back.

Bonnie slipped her hands inside his and forced his eyes up into her own.

"Then we make sure they don't" she kissed him.

* * *

"Bonnie, I'll give the crystal to Bonnie" said Jeremy decidedly and watched as the sun came up to announce the beginning of a brand new day.


End file.
